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Danzig shootings: Toronto Police lay first-degree murder charges

Four months after the city&rsquo;s worst ever mass shooting, police pin a total of 27 charges on Shaquan Mesquito, 18.

Staff Insp. Greg McLean (head of the Toronto Police homicide squad) stands with sketches of "persons of interest" still wanted in connection with the Danzig shootings. Two first-degree murder charges, one count of attempted murder and 23 charges of aggravated assault have been laid against Shaquan Mesquito, 18, in connection with July's mass shooting at a community barbecue.
(RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR)

By Jayme PoissonStaff Reporter

Fri., Nov. 9, 2012

More than two lives were wiped out on Danzig St., says the grandfather of Shyanne Charles.

“We lost two people in one incident,” Tyrone Charles said Thursday, referring to 14-year-old Shyanne and Joshua Yasay, 23, two innocent victims caught in the crosshairs of the worst mass shooting in Toronto’s history.

“And the person who did it, his life is over,” he added.

On Thursday, police announced they had charged 18-year-old Shaquan Mesquito, who goes by the street name “Bam Bam,” with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and 23 counts of aggravated assault — one for every person wounded by bullets at the neighbourhood barbecue on July 16.

Mesquito has been in custody since July 27, initially arrested and charged with uttering threats and for possession of a .22 calibre revolver. His Malvern home was shot up just hours after the gun battle.

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At a news conference Thursday, Toronto Police Staff Insp. Greg McLane explained that while he couldn’t offer specific details, the break in the case came from a combination of public assistance, a “dogged determination” from investigators, and forensics.

Police now believe the barbecue erupted because of an altercation between rival gangs the Galloway Boys — who had taken ownership of the street party that had up to 150 people in attendance — and the Malvern Crew.

When one Malvern Crew member showed up at the party and was turned away, he returned with reinforcements, police allege.

“This resulted in a violent confrontation between a number of gang members from the Galloway Boys and from the Malvern Crew that involved a number of firearms,” said McLane, who heads the homicide squad.

Police believe Mesquito is a member of the Malvern Crew, but wouldn’t say whether he is the individual turned away. Investigators do not believe he is solely responsible for the violence.

“This investigation is far from over,” said McLane, adding that he is confident there will be future charges, including additional murder charges.

McLane compared the charges laid this week to those laid in the 2005 Boxing Day killing of Jane Creba, where several people who allegedly discharged weapons during that gang-related shootout faced murder charges.

Another man, Nahom Tsegazab, 19, a reputed Galloway Boy who goes by the street name “Gifted,” was arrested in July and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm.

Appealing for more information, police also released composite sketches Thursday of two “persons of interest” in the case. One man has a scar under his left eye.

Police also appealed for any information that could help identify those who were checking partygoers for guns — a process known as “G-checking” — and may have turned the original Malvern Crew member away.

McLane said investigators are still exploring possible links between the Danzig St. shooting and another shooting on Chester Le Blvd., near Victoria Park Ave. At the beginning of September, a teenage Danzig St. shooting victim was shot again while riding his bike.

The 16-year-old alleged shooter has connections to Tsezegab.

Police Chief Bill Blair, at Thursday’s press conference, told reporters he understood that community members may be fearful about coming forward.

“I want them to know that we will treat the information they provide to us very respectfully and very sensitively to those concerns,” he said.

“I also want them to know we need them to come forward. The only way we can keep our neighbourhood safe, and our kids safe, is if we all work together.”

Tyronne Charles offered a sense of sorrow about those responsible for his granddaughter’s death. While he and Shyanne’s mother are relieved that murder charges have been laid, there is a cycle of violence — other young men with guns, he explained.

“My whole thing is preventing,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of young men out there with no direction. Let me grab them before they reach for the gun.”

On Danzig St. Thursday, Ann Marie Stevens, who discovered Charles’ body lying on the dirt that night, and gave her chest compressions while waiting for help, said some things aren’t easy to forget. “I still haven’t dealt with it,” she said inside her home.

Whether the charges laid will help the community move on, Stevens, who said that she can still hear screams from that night, had a different response than Charles.

“I don’t think it’s really going to make a difference,” she said. “They’re still being fed. They’re still being clothed. They still have life.”

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